Jack Salt

Jack Matthew Cooper Salt (born 11 February 1996) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. He played college basketball in the United States for the Virginia Cavaliers, where he was a member of their 2019 national championship team. He played the majority of his career in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) and had two seasons in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He was also a member of the New Zealand national team in various FIBA competitions.

Jack Salt
Salt playing for Virginia in February 2019
Personal information
Born (1996-02-11) 11 February 1996
London, England
NationalityNew Zealand
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight257 lb (117 kg)
Career information
High schoolWestlake Boys
(Auckland, New Zealand)
CollegeVirginia (2015–2019)
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2013–2022
PositionCentre
Career history
2013Super City Rangers
2013–2014New Zealand Breakers
2014Waikato Pistons
2020–2021Canterbury Rams
2021Northside Wizards
2021–2022Brisbane Bullets
2022Hawke's Bay Hawks
Career highlights and awards

Early life and career

Born in London, England, Salt grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, where he had a distinguished career at Westlake Boys High School. In 2013, Salt debuted in the New Zealand NBL for the Super City Rangers, averaging 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 14 games.[1] After a stint as a development player with the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian NBL during the 2013–14 season,[2] Salt played for the Waikato Pistons during the 2014 New Zealand NBL season, averaging 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in nine games.[1]

College career

In 2013, Salt signed with coach Tony Bennett at Virginia to play college basketball.[3] Salt took a redshirt in his first year on campus to gain weight and strength for his debut season in 2015–16. He played sparingly in his redshirt freshman season, but then became a steady rotation player for the Cavaliers for the rest of his career.[4][5]

In Salt's senior season, the Cavaliers began the season still stinging from becoming the first top seed to lose to a 16 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers won a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title and were again a number one seed. While playing modest minutes through much of the tournament, Salt played a key role against Purdue in the Elite Eight. Matching up against the Boilermakers' big and physical front line, Salt played 34 minutes and scored 5 points, grabbed eight rebounds and collected a pair of steals to help the Cavaliers to an overtime win and a spot in the Final Four.[6] Virginia then defeated Auburn and Texas Tech in the Final Four to win the school's first NCAA basketball championship. Salt became the first New Zealand native to win an NCAA Division I national championship.[7]

For his Cavaliers career, Salt started in 106 games, averaging 3.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in a role primarily as a defensive specialist.[8]

Professional career

After not being selected in the 2019 NBA draft, Salt joined the Phoenix Suns 2019 Summer League team.[9] On 26 July 2019, he signed with Trefl Sopot of the Polish Basketball League (PLK), after considering his home country New Zealand Breakers.[10][11] However, he failed to join the team due to liver problems.[12]

On 6 February 2020, Salt signed with the Canterbury Rams for the 2020 New Zealand NBL season.[13] However, a knee injury ruled him out of the six-week competition.[14] On 18 November 2020, he re-signed with the Rams for the 2021 season.[15] He played for the first time in 22 months in April 2021.[16] He played in the first three games before a knee injury sidelined him.[17] He played nine games for Canterbury and then had a one-game stint with the Northside Wizards of the NBL1 North.[18]

On 7 July 2021, Salt signed with the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian NBL for the 2021–22 season.[19] He joined the Hawke's Bay Hawks for the 2022 New Zealand NBL season,[20] but was limited due to lingering viral issues.[21]

On 28 December 2022, Salt announced his retirement from basketball.[22]

National team career

Salt played for New Zealand's U20 team in 2013–14 and was a member of the senior national team for the 2013 Oceania championships. Salt withdrew from consideration for New Zealand's 2019 FIBA World Cup team, instead focusing on preparing for the 2019–20 season.[23]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Virginia Redshirt Redshirt
2015–16 Virginia 2296.3.515-.3331.10.00.00.21.6
2016–17 Virginia 343418.4.559-.4894.10.40.30.63.7
2017–18 Virginia 343419.8.642-.3824.10.30.30.63.4
2018–19 Virginia 372916.6.602-.5113.70.40.30.33.7
Career 12710616.2.590-.4623.50.30.30.53.3

References
  1. "Player statistics for Jack Salt". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  2. "Jack Salt". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  3. Hinton, Marc (21 September 2013). "Breaker Jack Salt off to US college - reports". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  4. Barber, Mike (8 March 2019). "UVA's Jack Salt has found a 'second home' in basketball-loving Charlottesville". Richmond.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  5. Wood, Norm (8 March 2019). "From New Zealand to Charlottesville: Jack Salt has become indispensable to U.Va". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  6. Barber, Mike (30 March 2019). "FINAL FOUR: Virginia defeats Purdue in overtime thriller, is headed to Minneapolis". Richmond.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  7. "Kiwi Jack Salt an NCAA champion as Virginia beats Texas Tech in final". Stuff.co.nz. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  8. Darney, Caroline (8 March 2019). "As Jack Salt plays in his last home game, the redshirt senior has already left his legacy on Virginia Basketball". SB Nation. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  9. Shifflett, John (27 June 2019). "Former Virginia center Jack Salt will play for Phoenix Suns in upcoming NBA Summer League". Richmond.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  10. "Kiwi NCAA champion Jack Salt signs to play first professional season in Poland". Stuff.co.nz. 27 July 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  11. "Mistrz NCAA w Treflu Sopot". Trefl Sopot (in Polish). 26 July 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  12. Wasiek, Karol (23 October 2019). "EBL. Nana Foulland - co za center! Trefl Sopot trafił w dziesiątkę". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  13. "The Canterbury Rams Announce The Signing Of Jack Salt For The 2020 Sal's NBL Season". canterburyrams.basketball. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  14. "Jack Salt is out of the NBL Showdown after injuring his..." twitter.com/NZ_hoops. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  15. "Canterbury Rams Announce The Re-Signing Of Jack Salt". canterburyrams.basketball. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  16. Egan, Brendon (24 April 2021). "Basketballer Jack Salt returns to court after two-year health nightmare". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  17. Egan, Brendon (9 June 2021). "New Zealand NBL: Slow-starting Canterbury Rams need to find their rhythm". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  18. "Jack Salt". australiabasket.com. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  19. "Jack Salt Signs with Brisbane". NBL.com.au. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  20. ""Hawks load up roster with Champion big man Jack Salt."". hawks.org.nz. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  21. "CLUB STATEMENT – Update Jack Salt & Hawks Roster". hawks.org.nz. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  22. "Former Bullet Salt Retires". NBL.com.au. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  23. Francis, Ben (17 June 2019). "Tall Blacks: Basketball NZ confirms Steven Adams won't play at World Cup". Newshub. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
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